taken to feeding before naps

[Lisa J]

Hi, my lo is nearly 8 months old and for the past 2-3 weeks she has taken to breast feeding before naps.  I try to feed her downstairs when she wakes first thing, and she will have a certain amount of milk but she is so interested in her surroundings that she doesn't seem to have a full feed and will come off the breast 4 or 5 times to sit up and play with anything in reach.  I then give her breakfast and A time before her nap.  She will sob if I put her down without bfeeding her, and to be honest she does take a much better feed in her bedroom.  However, this means that I am not putting her down awake as she falls asleep on the breast.  I am already having problems with night wakings, possibly due to short naps during the day (45 mins, 3 x a day).  So I don't know if this is compounding the issue?  If it is, how do I get her to have a full feed away from nap time?

[Samuel's mum]

I think your best bet is to use the gentle removal plan so she becomes less and less dependent on the breast to fall asleep. It is outlined by Tracy in BW for toddlers (Leanne's case study) but there's also an overview in the nightwakings FAQ as it's also mentioned by another writer called Elizabeth Pantley. This is an extract

********PANTLEY'S GENTLE REMOVAL PLAN--
 "...TO CHANGE BABY'S SLEEP ASSOCIATION- WHEN YOUR ABY WAKES, GO AHEAD AND POP HIS PACIFIER OR BOTTLE INTO MOUTH OR NURSE HIM. BUT, INSTEAD OF LEAVING HIM THERE AND GOING BACK TO BED, OR LETTING HIM FALL ASLEEP AT THE BREAST, LET HIM SUCK FOR A FEW MIN UNTIL HIS SUCKING SLOWS AND HE IS RELAXED AND SLEEPY. THE BREAK THE SEAL WITH YOUR FINGER AND GENTLY REMOVE THE PACIFIER OR NIPPLE.

OFTEN, EXPECIALLY AT FIRST YOUR BABY THEN WILL STARTLE AND ROOT FOR THE NIPPLE. TRY TO VERY GENTLY HOLD HIS MOUTH CLOSED WITH YOUR FINGER UNDER HIS CHIN, OR APPLY PRESSURE TO HIS CHIN, JUST UNDER HIS LIP AT THE SAME TIME ROCKING OR SWAYING WITH HIM (USE KEY YOUR KEY WORDS IF YOU DEVELOPED THEM). IF HE STRUGGLES AGAINST THIS AND ROOTS FOR YOUR OR HIS PACI OR BOTTLE, OR FUSSES, GO AHEAD AND REPLACE THE PROP, BUT REPEAT THE REMOVAL PROCESS AS OFTEN AS NECESSARY UNTIL HE FALLS ASLEEP.

HOW LONG BETWEEN REMOVALS? EVERY BABY IS DIFFERENT BUT ABOUT 10-60 SEC... IT MAY TAKE 2-5 (OR MORE) ATTEMPTS BUT EVENTUALLY BABY WIL FALL ASLEEP W/OUT THE PROP IN HER MOUTH. WHEN SHE HAS DONE THIS A NUMBER OF TIMES OVER A PERIOD OF DAYS, YOU WILL NOTICE THE RMOVALS ARE MUCH EASIER, AND HER AWAKENINGS ARE LESS FREQUENT...

Pantley's Gentle Removal Plan looks something like this (this example shows a bf baby, but the plan is the same whether baby is bf, using a bottle or paci)

baby is awake and nursing vigorouslly
babys eyes close and his sucking rate slows
you gently remove your nipple
baby roots (moving his mouth open towards you)
try holding the chin, but he'll have none of that!
you put him back to the breast
count: 1thousand, 2thousand,... ten thousand*
you gently remove your nipple
baby roots
you try stalling, but no dice
you put him back to the breast
count :1thousand, 2 thousand,... ten thousand
you gently remove your nipple
baby roots
you put him back to the breast
count: one thousand, tow thousand,... ten thousand
you gently remove your nipple
baby moves a little, and you gently hold his mouth closed (betsy says- my baby won't let me do this, so i place her on my shoulder and rub her back)
baby doesn't resist, he is nearly out
you place baby in bed
he goes to sleep

* the counting is really moe for you, to give you a gauge to mearuse you r time and a way to keep yourself calm during your repeated attempts. you can be flexible as you figure out what time spacing works best for you and your baby

REPEAT THIS PROCESS EVERY NIGHT UNTIL BABY LEARNS SHE CALN FALL ASLEEP W/OUT THE PROP. IF YOUR BABY IS A "GOOD NAPPER" YOU CAN USE THE TECHNIQUE FOR NAPTIMES TOO.

Then you can work on extended the gap between breast and sleep so there's a small A which you could then expand.

Ultimately a baby who falls asleep on the breast will most likely lose the ability to self-soothe and you will find increased night wakings in the longer-term. I'm not sure whether it is making a difference at the moment but it would in the longer term for sure. I actually think nursing to sleep is such a sweet way for a baby to fall asleep and so easy but Tracy recommended against it for a reason - longer term sleep issues.

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Can you feed her in the darkened bedroom right when she wakes without taking her downstairs?  SHe might feed better then and be less distracted...

[Lisa J]

Thanks for that.  Why didn't I think of that!  I will try it afresh from tomorrow and see how we go.

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

No problem!  I have the same problem.  If I don't get her RIGHT AWAY when she wakes for the day, the whole rest of the day gets messed up.